Topic Centre Work Environment (TCWE)

Status:

completed 03/2009

Aims:

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work collects and disseminates information on occupational safety and health throughout Europe and beyond. It has set up a Topic Centre Work Environment (TCWE) for topical issues and practical solutions in the area of occupational safety and health. During the course of the TCWE from 2005 to 2009, OSH information was to be gathered, critically reviewed and updated by an international partnership of 16 bodies in some 20 sub-projects per year, for publication on the Agency's website.

Activities/Methods:

Information addressing numerous topical OSH issues was gathered throughout the European Union and published in the form of prevention reports by the Agency. These can generally be attributed to the three areas of OSH strategies, literature surveys and case studies. The BGIA assumed responsibility for co-ordinating the involvement of accident insurance institutions in the project on a sectoral basis. The focus lay upon subjects such as the following: noise at the workplace, occupational safety and health for older and younger employees, sector-specific solutions for hotels, restaurants and catering (in co-operation with the BGN), the construction sector (in co-operation with the BG BAU), transport and traffic (in co-operation with the BGF), and maintenance. For their respective countries and languages, the parties to the project also researched and reviewed Internet sources, and prepared them for use on the website of the European Agency's network with the addition of brief comments. In addition, existing content was reviewed and updated, and proposals made for improvements to make the online information more user-friendly.

Results:

The prevention reports are available with summaries and examples from the field from numerous European countries, in some cases in multiple languages, and are intended in particular for the following target groups: companies, OSH professionals, policymakers and the social partners. They are disseminated on the Internet, and in some cases in printed form. The result for users was more user-friendly and up-to-date online information from the European Agency. A part of the work conducted by the TCWE is continued from 2009 onwards in the new Topic Centre Occupational Safety and Health (TC OSH).

Last Update: